There are seven key factors people in the helping professions (including early childhood educators) require in their work-life to avoid burnout. We examine the seven key factors, how each one influences our work in the classroom and community, and what organizational practices support the well-being of early childhood professionals.
Read MoreIn a field that has traditionally touted self-sacrifice as a virtue, it is time to take a hard look at the importance of well-being as an attribute and indicator of a healthy professional practice.
Read MoreLast week I wanted to take a complete rest day with no exercise, work, or personal responsibilities. I started feeling guilty about not doing something productive. What did I learn about the benefits of rest that can help you in your practice as an educator?
Read MoreWhen educators experience too much stress at work, the quality of interactions with children decreases, and professional motivation diminishes. There are six healthy practices educators can engage in to help lower the stress in their lives.
Read MoreWorking with children, parents, and families is emotional labor. Educators absorb the feelings of others and experience emotions of their own while working in the classroom. Taking time to work through emotional challenges helps us build resiliency and recover from difficulties in life.
Read MoreBeing a helping professional is about giving to others. We need to be aware of how much we contribute to others and do our best to balance out the other side by giving to ourselves.
Read MoreNurturing as a skill recognizes several important constructs about how children develop social-emotionally, physically, and cognitively. If we are to support whole child development, we need to acknowledge that nurturing all the ways young children develop and learn is a complex business.
Read MoreReactions to stress are individualized. Our ability to cope relies on a complex and ever-changing equation of individual and environmental factors.
Read MoreSometimes, we fall into the trap of believing other people are responsible for meeting our needs in the workplace. The care and nurturing of productive relationships start with self.
Read MoreOur most significant vulnerabilities originate from the traits valued in our field, caring, compassion, and self-sacrifice. These traits are hard-wired into who we are and the attributes that keep us from self-care.
Read MoreWe are all leaders. We all have values and principles that we enact in our professional practice. Our ability to clarify our beliefs made us much stronger as educators.
Read MoreAt its heart, reflective practice helps us shift from feelings of scarcity, the act of not having enough or being enough, to one of abundance, seeing the richness and depth of early childhood education.
Read MoreThe gift of being fully present is something that goes beyond personal gains, it stretches out to the children, students, colleagues, and family. When we are fully present, the people in our life feel heard and valued.
Read MoreAs early childhood professionals, we change programs and roles many times in our careers. When we decide to make a change, how do we find a program or role that fits our key values as a person and educator?
Read MoreOur words, thoughts, and actions are an outward demonstration of our values. As educators, we are members of the community that are seen and heard, so our choices of how we share our values reflect what we want to see in the world.
Read MoreA believer in education is someone who empowers children, gives gentle advice, is a good listener, and a person who lets the children know they have someone who sees only good in them and is there for them under any circumstance.
Read MoreInvestments in quality early childhood programs start with investments in early childhood educators that extend far beyond the technical skills of teaching children.
Read MoreIn lives that are very busy, we often skip the foundations that make us successful and fulfilled in our practice. Taking time to authentically hear each other, to listen for understanding, and not just waiting to speak, will fundamentally change how we engage in our practice as early childhood educators.
Read MoreEnvironments viewing early childhood educators as capable and competent foster those values in both educators and children. The act of co-learning applies as much to adult-adult relationships---among educators and between administrators and educators---as it does with children in the classroom. The more the program celebrates capabilities, the more the classroom fosters meaningful interactions.
Read More
